Santa's Performance Review:
Three Quarters (76%) Approve Of Santa's Performance

Toronto, ON - A new Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of CanWest News Service and Global Television finds that Canadians have given a better assessment of Santa's performance this year over last year. In fact, more than three quarters (76%) of Canadians `approve' of Santa's overall performance in the past year, while fewer than three quarters (73%) approved of his performance last year. Just 12% of Canadians would disapprove of Santa's performance this year, down from 15% last year, and another 12% don't know how they would rate his performance.

In fact, this year, 43% of Canadians `strongly approve' of Santa's overall performance, while 37% of Canadians `strongly approved' of his performance last year. Mrs. Claus and the elves will no doubt be pleased that Santa's performance rating has improved this year, which likely means that there will be many happy children on Christmas morning.

• Quebecers (79%) are the most likely to say that they approve of Santa's performance, while those in Ontario (73%) and Saskatchewan and Manitoba (73%) are less likely.
• Middle-aged Canadians, aged 35 to 54, are most likely to approve of Santa's performance (80%), followed by younger (76%) and older Canadians (71%).

But it looks like some Canadians might be in jeopardy of being on Santa's `naughty' list. More specifically, one in ten (10%) Canadians think that they have been `naughty' over the past year, which is virtually unchanged since last year (11%). However, the vast majority say that they have been nice (86%), which is unchanged from last year.

• Residents of Saskatchewan and Manitoba are most likely to claim that they have been naughty (16%), followed by those in Ontario (14%) and Atlantic Canada (11%). Canadians living in Quebec, BC and Alberta are all much less likely to claim that they have been naughty this year (5%).

And thinking about whether they personally believe in Santa Claus, nearly one third (31%) of Canadians personally admit that they do.

• Those living in British Columbia (37%), Atlantic Canada (36%), and Ontario (33%) are most likely to believe in Santa, while those in Alberta (28%), Quebec (27%), and Saskatchewan and Manitoba (25%) are least likely.
• Middle-aged Canadians (ages 35 to 54) are much more likely (37%) than older (32%) or younger (22%) Canadians to admit to believing in Santa Claus.

These are the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted for CanWest News Service/Global News and fielded from December 18 -20, 2007. For this survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 1,001 adult Canadians was interviewed by telephone. With a sample of this size, the aggregate results are considered accurate to within 177 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult Canadian population been polled. The margin of error will be larger within each sub-grouping of the survey population. These data were weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to Census data.

For more information on this news release, please contact:
John Wright
Senior Vice President
Ipsos Reid
Public Affairs
(416) 324-2002
[email protected]

About Ipsos Reid
Ipsos Reid is Canada's market intelligence leader, the country's leading provider of public opinion research, and research partner for loyalty and forecasting and modelling insights. With operations in eight cities, Ipsos Reid employs more than 600 research professionals and support staff in Canada. The company has the biggest network of telephone call centres in the country, as well as the largest pre-recruited household and online panels. Ipsos Reid's marketing research and public affairs practices offer the premier suite of research vehicles in Canada, all of which provide clients with actionable and relevant information. Staffed with seasoned research consultants with extensive industry-specific backgrounds, Ipsos Reid offers syndicated information or custom solutions across key sectors of the Canadian economy, including consumer packaged goods, financial services, automotive, retail, and technology & telecommunications. Ipsos Reid is an Ipsos company, a leading global survey-based market research group.

To learn more, please visit www.ipsos.ca.

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